Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice, sandhoppers), some are parasitic (e.g. Rhizocephala, fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record, reaching back to the Cambrian. More than 7.9 million tons of crustaceans per year are harvested by fishery or farming for human consumption, consisting mostly of shrimp and prawns. Krill and copepods are not as widely fished, but may be the animals with the greatest biomass on the planet, and form a vital part of the food chain. The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology (alternatively, malacostracology, crustaceology or crustalogy), and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist.

The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into three regions: the cephalon or head, the pereon or thorax, and the pleon or abdomen. The head and thorax may be fused together to form a cephalothorax, which may be covered by a single large carapace. The crustacean body is protected by the hard exoskeleton, which must be moulted for the animal to grow. The shell around each somite can be divided into a dorsal tergum, ventral sternum and a lateral pleuron. Various parts of the exoskeleton may be fused together.

The name "crustacean" dates from the earliest works to describe the animals, including those of Pierre Belon and Guillaume Rondelet, but the name was not used by some later authors, including Carl Linnaeus, who included crustaceans among the "Aptera" in his Systema Naturae. The earliest nomenclatural valid work to use the name "Crustacea" was Morten Thrane Brünnich's Zoologiæ Fundamenta in 1772, although he also included chelicerates in the group.

The traditional classification of Crustacea based on morphology recognised four to six classes. Bowman and Abele (1982) recognised 652 extant families and 38 orders, organised into six classes: Branchiopoda, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Maxillopoda, Ostracoda, and Malacostraca. Martin and Davis (2001) updated this classification, retaining the six classes but including 849 extant families in 42 orders. Despite outlining the evidence that Maxillopoda was non-monophyletic, they retained it as one of the six classes, although did suggest that Maxillipoda could be replaced by elevating its subclasses to classes. Since then phylogenetic studies have confirmed the polyphyly of Maxillopoda and the paraphyletic nature of Crustacea with respect to Hexapoda. Recent classifications recognise ten to twelve classes in Crustacea or Pancrustacea, with several former maxillopod subclasses now recognised as classes (e.g. Thecostraca, Tantulocarida, Mystacocarida, Copepoda, Branchiura and Pentastomida).

Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and nearly 10,700,000 tons were harvested in 2007; the vast majority of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, langoustine and prawns. Over 60% by weight of all crustaceans caught for consumption are shrimp and prawns, and nearly 80% is produced in Asia, with China alone producing nearly half the world's total. Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet. Krill are, however, a speciality in China and Japan and are used pickled in Korea. They are also consumed in Artic regions and are being introduced to new consumers as fusion recipes using frozen and tinned krill. Gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes) are a speciality of Spanish cuisine (recipes including krill and gooseneck barnacles can be found in the links below). The Pacific goose barnacle, Pollicipes elegans is also consumed, particularly in Alaska. The Japanese goose barnacle, Capitulum mitella is eaten in Japan. The Chilean giant barnacle or picoroco (Austromegabalanus psittacus) is routinely fished for food. Woodlice are sometimes consumed by foragers. Dried prawns (locally known as crawfish) are used as a flavouring and thickener in West African stews.

The alphabetical list of all the Crustacean-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 550 recipes in total:

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Feuilles de Manioc Malienne (Malian Cassava Leaf Stew)      Origin: Mali	Guyanese Crab Callaloo      Origin: Guyana	Katakou au Poisson Frais (Palm Soup Base with Fresh Fish)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Fijian Crab Curry      Origin: Fiji	Haiken (Chicken and Prawn Egg Rolls)      Origin: Mauritius	Ke'lagu'en Uhang (Prawns and Peppers)      Origin: Guam
Filé Gumbo      Origin: Louisiana	Hami (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Tonga	Ke'lagu'en Uhang (Prawns and Peppers)      Origin: Northern Mariana Islands
Filipino Fish Curry      Origin: Philippines	Herb and Garlic Prawns      Origin: Britain	Kedjenou      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Fish Creole      Origin: Louisiana	Honey-glazed Prawns      Origin: Roman	Kejenou avec Agouti (Kejenou with Cane Rat)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Fish Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls      Origin: Hong Kong	Kelenkelen (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Cameroon
Fish Pie with Dulse      Origin: Scotland	Ikan Assam Pedas (Hot-and-sour Fish Stew)      Origin: Malaysia	Khayan thee Hnat (Burmese Stuffed Aubergine Curry)      Origin: Myanmar
Fish Sausages      Origin: Scotland	In Locusta Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Lobster)      Origin: Roman	Khichiri Prawn Sauce      Origin: India
Fisk och paprikasoppa (Fish and Bell Pepper Soup)      Origin: Sweden	Indonesian Peanut Sauce      Origin: Indonesia	King Prawn Pathia      Origin: Britain
Flancitos      Origin: Chile	Isicia de Cauda Eius sic Facies (Make Lobster Tail Forcemeat Balls Thus)      Origin: Roman	Kingklip and Prawn Biryani      Origin: South Africa
Folon      Origin: Cameroon	Isicia de scillis (Prawn Rissole)      Origin: Roman	Kiribati Coconut Crab Curry      Origin: Kiribati
Foufou de Banane à la Sauce Claire (Plantain Fufu with Clear Sauce)      Origin: Mali	Isicia Marina (Seafood Patties)      Origin: Roman	Kontomire Stew (Cocoyam Leaf Stew)      Origin: Ghana
French Coconut Fish Curry      Origin: France	Iwuk Efere      Origin: Nigeria	Korean-inspired Pollock Stew with Gochujang and Wild Greens      Origin: Korea
Fricassé de ouassous (Fricassée of Freshwater Prawns)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Jamaican Jerk Shirmp      Origin: Jamaica	Kouti (Cassava Croquettes)      Origin: Guinea
Fried Brinjal Sambal      Origin: Myanmar	Jamaican Prawn Curry      Origin: Jamaica	Krain Krain (Jute Leaf Stew)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Malaysia	Jamaican Rum Prawns      Origin: Jamaica	Kreooli krabi-kotletid (Dominican Creole Crab Cakes)      Origin: Dominica
Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Christmas Island	Jamaican Seafood Soup      Origin: Jamaica	Kriibsen (Crayfish, Luxembourg Style)      Origin: Luxembourg
Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Cocos Islands	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Bonaire	Krill Sweet Potato Cakes      Origin: Fusion
Fu Yung Hai (Eggs Fu Yung)      Origin: China	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Curacao	Krokèchi (Prawn Croquettes)      Origin: Aruba
Fukusazushi      Origin: Japan	Javaanse Bami      Origin: Suriname	Kyet tha Kar la Thar Hin (Chicken and Squash Curry)      Origin: Myanmar
Gaeng Pa (Jungle Curry Paste)      Origin: Thailand	Jungle Curry Prawns      Origin: Thailand	Laksa      Origin: Malaysia
Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Kaeng Khiao Wan (Thai Green Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Laksa Paste      Origin: Singapore
Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Kaeng Phet Pet Yang (Thai Red Roast Duck Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Laksa Paste      Origin: Malaysia
Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Orange Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Kajaik (Sudanese fish stew)      Origin: South Sudan	Laksa Paste II      Origin: Malaysia
Galician-style Goose Barnacles      Origin: Spain	Kakrar Jhal (Bengali Crab Curry)      Origin: India	Langouste à la Vanille (Lobsters with Vanilla Sauce)      Origin: Comoros
Gambas ou langoustines au pastis (Prawns or Langoustines with Pastis)      Origin: Monaco	Kansiyé avec 'Mafe' (Smoked Chicken in Peanut Sauce with Mashed Plantains)      Origin: Guinea	Langoustes grillées au beurre vanillé (Grilled Lobsters with Vanilla Butter)      Origin: New Caledonia
Gari aux Crevettes (Gari with Prawns)      Origin: Cameroon	Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines	Langoustes grillées sauce antillaise (Grilled Spiny Lobster with Antillean Sauce)      Origin: Sint Maarten
Gari Foto      Origin: Ghana	Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia	Langoustes grillées sauce antillaise (Grilled Spiny Lobster with Antillean Sauce)      Origin: Saint Barthelemy
Ginger Prawns with Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: China	Kari Ikan (Malaysian Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia	Langoustes grillées sauce antillaise (Grilled Spiny Lobster with Antillean Sauce)      Origin: Saint-Martin
Goan Crab Claw Curry      Origin: India	Kari Koko (Seychellois King Prawn and Coconut Curry)      Origin: Seychelles	Langoustines bretonnes sautées au beurre salé (Breton langoustines sautéed in salted butter)      Origin: France
Gratin de fruits de mer (Seafood Gratin)      Origin: Monaco	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Lao Tam Som (Lao Green Papaya Salad)      Origin: Laos
Gratin de galettes aux crevettes (Gratin of Pancakes with Prawns and Mushrooms)      Origin: France	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Bonaire	Laska      Origin: Malaysia
Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Federated States Micronesia	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Curacao
Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Tuvalu	Karrísúpa (Icelandic Curry Soup)      Origin: Iceland

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